County planners approve Old Navy on M-32

April 21, 2004|By Laurie Lounsbury, Staff Writer

LIVINGSTON TWP. - Otsego County will be gaining another 116,354 square feet of retail space with the new Alpine Crossings, a strip mall approved by county planners at their Monday meeting. Planning commissioners granted a special-use permit for the project being developed by partners Tom Pohlman and David Ederer of the Encore Development Group of New Boston.

The proposed mall will be on M-32, adjacent to and east of Kohl's. The property is zoned B2, general business, where any retail use exceeding 5,000 square feet requires a special-use permit. Its first tenant will be Old Navy, a national clothing chain. Pohlman said they are also in contract negotiations with two other national retailers.

Chuck Christy of Wade-Trim presented the site plan to planners, acknowledging that the plan was nearly identical to a plan presented nearly one year ago.

"We were working on leasing for the past year," Pohlman said, explaining the one-year time lag from the first proposal to the current one.

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While the proposal met with no objections for a special-use permit, planners did add a few conditions to their approval.

Light pollution was a concern of all planners.

"I live far enough away, but it (Kohl's) looks like a nuclear glow when you look toward Gaylord," said commissioner Allan Bentz, who lives in Elmira.

Planner Mark Stephens added a condition that mall lights should be extinguished one hour after the last retail business closes, with the exception of lights necessary for security purposes.

Also of concern to Otsego County Fire Chief Dave Duffield was adequate, well-spaced fire hydrants and an appropriate water system, which planners added to the special-use permit.

The strip mall will have an access road between the mall and M-32. The plan shows a center entrance, along with an east and west entrance. Planners objected to three entrances, preferring two, but recognized the final decision lies with the Michigan Dept. of Transportation.

The mall will have a total of 552 parking spaces, all of which will be in front of the mall. Although no action was taken on the parking-in-front design, Tober commented on it.

"From a planner's viewpoint, putting buildings up front and parking in back would be more attractive," he said.

"They're doing that in more urban settings, but with our tenants, it would be very difficult to do, plus that land in front is highly desirable, it makes it a go," Pohlman said.

Stephens said mall designs may be something that should be considered as planners update the master plan and zoning laws.

"Maybe this is something to address in our zoning ordinance," he said. "If everyone had to do it (put parking in back), it wouldn't be objectionable."

The mall will be built in phases, with Encore breaking ground on the first phase within 30 days; Old Navy would like to be open by early fall. The next phase will include a 30,000 square foot, big box retailer in the center of the mall. The entire project will be built out within the next two or three years, Pohlman said.